Welcome to your December 2016 Insider Update -- the newsletter for readers of Inside Higher Ed. Once a month we send a quick rundown on what's happening at Inside Higher Ed: events, accomplishments and a bit of fun.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Josh Kim's Technology and Learning blog post titled "6 Ways the iPhone Changed Higher Ed" lit up the social networks and inspired lots of comments -- even a poem! Daniel J. Myers' essay positing that professors need to care a little more about their sartorial style garnered some plaudits and many brickbats, but made for a lively discussion. And Scott Jaschik's coverage of a proposal by two male philosophers of a boycott of conferences that don’t have female keynoters inspired more comments than any other story we published last month.

BOOK WITH BUZZ

A university administrator's new book looks at students who were motivated by creativity, not grades, to think deeply and impact others. Click here to read Elise Young's story about the book (as well as all Inside Higher Ed's books coverage).

The Inside Higher Ed survey of business officers was made possible in part by the generous financial support of ARAMARK, Ellucian, Inceptia and TIAA-CREF.

OUT AND ABOUT -- On August 9-10, ACE and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) will bring together teams of CAOs and CFOs for an annual two-day workshop to address how to build effective partnerships here in Washington, DC. Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman will be presenting a session of the results of our 2012 Survey of College and University Business Officers and the 2012 Survey of Chief Academic Officers.

Scott Jaschik and Serena Golden travel to Denver for the annual conference of the American Sociological Association, taking place August 17-20.

Paul Fain heads to Tampa to cover the Republican National Convention August 27-30.

Serena hits the road again on August 30, heading to New Orleans for the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association.

STAFF NEWS -- Inside Higher Ed bids farewell to reporting intern Elise Young, who's heading back to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to finish her degree. In her short two months with us, Elise has covered everything from alumni giving to flexible engineering degrees to wildfires in Colorado.

Welcome to Kacey Cox, who joined Inside Higher Ed last month as an advertising associate. Kacey will be working with community colleges, private sector institutions and our clients in the Western states and outside the U..S. Since graduating in 2008 from Elon University with a B.A. in English, she has pursued a variety of professional and academic interests.

RECENT VISITORS -- Things get a little quiet in DC in July. Nevertheless, we hosted several great visitors last month, including folks from Macalester College, Palm Beach Atlantic University, the Campaign for College Opportunity, HigherOne, and Concordia College (MN). We're always happy to host higher education leaders in our DC offices. Contact Scott at scott.jaschik@insidehighered.com or Doug at doug.lederman@insidehighered.com to plan a visit.

INTERACTIVE

FREE WEBINAR

Join us Wednesday, August 29 at 2 p.m. Eastern for a free webinar reviewing the results of Inside Higher Ed's 2012 Survey of College and University Business Officers. Editor Doug Lederman will discuss the survey with R. Gavin Leach, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer and Northern Michigan University.

The Inside Higher Ed survey of business officers was made possible in part by the generous financial support of ARAMARK, Ellucian, Inceptia and TIAA-CREF. Your registration information will be shared with these companies.

******************************************

REACHING FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

An Inside Higher Ed Webinar

Educators and politicians nationwide are urging colleges and universities to recruit and graduate a larger share of the population. To do so, many colleges will have to reach more first generation students – those whose parents did not attend college.

On Tuesday, August 21 at 1 p.m. EDT, Inside Higher Ed presents a webinar featuring the authors of "First Generation College Students: Understanding and Improving the Experience From Recruitment to Commencement" (Jossey-Bass). Lee Ward (director of career and academic planning at James Madison University and founder of the university’s Student Learning Institute), Michael J. Siegel (associate professor and director of the administration of higher education program at Suffolk University) and Zebulun Davenport (vice chancellor for student affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis) will discuss a range of the issues colleges need to know about first generation students.

The webinar will cover:

Who are first generation students?

What are the challenges in recruiting and admitting these students?

What is the relationship between first generation status and issues of race, ethnicity and class?

What services do first generation students need to succeed once enrolled?

How can colleges create a holistic approach to serving these students?

How can colleges tell if their efforts succeed?

The presenters will make a 30-minute presentation and then take questions for 30 minutes. This is an online event – you will not need to dial in to a conference call to participate.

Inside Higher Ed introduces Diversity Profiles, a bold, new diversity recruiting strategy designed to help you do what most diversity outreach options don't -- connect with real people.

Inside Higher Ed’s Diversity Profiles help talented minority professionals answer their most pressing question: Do I want to work at this institution? A new component of our popular Featured Employer pages, Diversity Profiles let great diversity candidates know about:

Your commitment to diversity

Key contacts who can provide real answers

Resources, activities and organizations that support diverse faculty and staff

Your community and culture

Presented in a well-crafted mini-site, your Diversity Profile is linked to every job you post on Inside Higher Ed. An eye-catching logo alerts job seekers that your institution has provided in-depth information for diversity candidates. With more than 30% of our credentials bank users self-identifying as minorities, your commitment to diversity will be communicated to exactly the candidates you want to reach Learn more!

We get lots of questions about writing effective job postings. Check this space for the ad that catches our eye each month. This month, The University of Alaska sounds the call of the wild:

Dean, College of Health

UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA AT ANCHORAGE

Set between the snow-capped peaks of the Chugach Mountains and the ocean waters of Cook Inlet, Anchorage is a gateway to state and national forests, year-round outdoor recreation and spectacular scenery, including close access to world-class parks, ski areas and fishing streams. (see posting)

New to the Community

We're happy to welcome the new and renewing annual contract recruiters that signed on with Inside Higher Ed in November. Openings at these schools are now making our Dual Career Search even more useful to job seekers - and to other institutions in their communities.